Leadership coaching & mentoring · Since 2004

Life is no rehearsal.

We help leaders realize their intentions — professionally and personally. Through coaching, mentoring and leadership programs, more than 3000 leaders have created lasting, authentic change.

Encourage — from French encorager, to hearten.
Encourage lighthouse logo
20+
Years of practice
100+
Organisations supported
3000+
Leaders developed
3
Continents served
Our philosophy
Authentic change requires effort — but not necessarily on your own.

Since 2004 we have supported over 100 organisations in their efforts to increase performance and organisational health.

More than 3000 leaders have achieved authentic change — professionally and personally — through coaching and mentoring or by attending our leadership programs.

We serve organisations and individual leaders across Scandinavia, Europe and the United States.

What we do

Realize your leadership intentions

Two levels of face-to-face engagement, each built around who you are and what you intend to achieve.

Ongoing

Leadership Mentoring

For leaders stepping into new or larger responsibilities, we provide support and the specific knowledge most relevant to their professional development.

Sessions take place face-to-face over a sustained period, between a leader and a mentor holding relevant knowledge and experience.

Discuss mentoring →
Distinct

Leadership Coaching

For leaders committed to changing their professional performance and personal wellbeing, we provide support and challenge tailored to their situation.

Sessions take place face-to-face over a defined period, between a leader and a coach holding relevant skills and experience.

Discuss coaching →
Trusted by leaders

A sample of our clients

Across Scandinavia, Europe and the US. Over 100 organisations have partnered with Encourage since 2004.

Individual Mentoring
Accenture EQT Roche Unibail-Rodamco Swedsec ICA AB Grant Thornton Boston Consulting Group Netlight Consulting Roschier Svenskt Näringsliv Snusbolaget
Individual Coaching
AstraZeneca Business Sweden Volvo AB Lindéngruppen Swedbank Clas Ohlson Nordea Lumell Bain & Co Systembolaget Volati Södra Rouse IKEA Axel Arigato Norvestor Inet Camfil Sveaskog Hemköp Linklaters
Leadership Programs
Cederquist Intrum Stockholm School of Economics EY Avanza Coor Service Management Willis Tobii Technology NovaCura Brandtec Olink HH&P
In their words

What clients say

The cooperation we have with Encourage is delivering a lot of value. They combine great academic knowledge and operational advice with goodwill and a meaningful culture. High ethical standards and proactive advice have supported us throughout our HR journey.

Jean-Luc Ferraton — Chief HR Officer, Intrum AB

Jag har varit VD i IT-branschen i mer än 25 år. Men det är ledarskap som är min passion. Därför är jag så genuint tacksam för att i många år ha haft Mats Eklund på Encourage som kvalificerad samtalspartner när jag velat ta mig och mitt ledningsteam till nya nivåer.

Lars Pettersson — CEO, Technology Nexus AB

There cannot be more than a handful of people who understand business, consulting and human behaviour to the level Mats Eklund does. His unique background combined with excellent coaching has provided me with a sounding board and healthy reference points for business and life.

CEO — International consultancy firm

It delivered above expectations. Not only did we manage to enter the larger organisation successfully, we also kept vital processes intact and strengthened our corporate culture — with increased job satisfaction for everybody as a result.

Patric Palm — CEO, Favro / Hansoft AB

Varje coachingsession har gett mig inspiration och varit utvecklande och stödjande i mitt förändringsarbete som ledare och människa. Mötena har varit stödjande men också utmanande och gett mig många insikter om mig själv.

Delägare — EY, Sweden

Mats quickly grasps the situation and makes a crystal-clear analysis. He has an unusual combination of a sharp brain and a humble kindness.

Annika Trogen — Director of HR, East Capital

Mats' assessments of candidates are always of the highest quality, and he always challenges us. As an advisor he is crisp in his recommendations, very thorough, and a highly sympathetic individual to work with.

Jan Hemmingson — MD Nordic, Alumni AB

Thanks to Mats, I now have a job which I would never have thought I could get.

Senior Project Manager — Bain & Co
THE Endeavour — Human Development
Human Development
Our methodology

The Endeavour — Human Development

From Middle English endeveren — to exert oneself.

An authentic attempt to reach something, or somewhere, through the exertion of effort.

Our work is grounded in a proven leadership development system, refined over two decades and taught in executive education. It gives leaders a clear structure for reflection, intention and lasting change.

Mats Eklund
The practitioner

Mats Eklund

Founder of Encourage · Mentor & Coach · Designer of The Endeavour™

Two decades of leadership support, built across strategy consulting, executive search and applied behavioural science — from McKinsey and Alumni to the lecture halls of Stockholm School of Economics.

mats@encourage.se

Experience

Encourage AB 2004 –
  • Founder, mentor and coach
  • Lectures and trainings at Stockholm School of Economics, Executive Education
  • Program Director of IMP — International Management Program
  • Faculty on Leadership & Talent Development in MAPS — Managing Professional Services
Endeavour Publishing AB 2011 –
  • Designer of THE Endeavour™ leadership development system
Alumni AB 2003 – 2004
  • Senior Executive Search & HR Consultant
  • Knowledge Manager for Alumni's HR Practice
  • Project Manager, Alumni Graduates — network of 200+ top talents from Sweden's leading universities
McKinsey & Company 1996 – 2002
  • Manager of Professional Development for 120 Swedish consultants (2002)
  • Scandinavian Learning Manager for the Nordic consultants (2001–2002)
  • Recruiting & Integration Manager (2000–2002)
  • Senior Associate Consultant

Education

M.Sc. in Business and AdministrationStockholm School of Economics, 1997
M.Sc. in Forestry ManagementSLU, 1997
B.Sc. studies in Psychology (Psykologlinjen)University of Stockholm, 2004–2006

Recognition

McKinsey "Colleague of the Year" 2000 — "for his enormous devotion to make new and old feel welcome."
Regiment representative at the soldier parliament, elected by 500 fellow soldiers.
Only soldier ever to graduate A4/I5 military medical school with a perfect score (10:10:10).

Certifications & training

Certified Coach — Coach2Coach Academy Certified Coach — CoachU, Chicago Integrative Conversational Therapy — Ravi Welch NLP Master Trainer — Robert Dilts, NLP University, Santa Cruz NLP Master Practitioner — Richard Bandler Generative Change — Stephen Gilligan Hypnotic Practitioner — Paul McKenna Meta-States of Reflexivity — Michael Hall Group Mastery — Michael Grinder Myers-Briggs Type Indicator — Assessio FIRO-B — Assessio
Get in touch

Let's begin your endeavour.

Let us explore who you are and where you intend to go. We'll take it from there.

info@encourage.se
Call +46 (0)70-666 54 56 Visit us Encourage AB
Birger Jarlsgatan 8, Floor 7
114 34 Stockholm, Sweden